TRENTON — He tried fixing his necktie the first time, but could not tie it correctly. The second time, Darryl E. Jointer was successful tying a single knot with the assistance of UIH Family Partners volunteer Abdul Muhammad.

“I came to get some clothes,” the 18-year-old said as he picked out a hound’s-tooth gray stripe suit with a burgundy paisley tie.

Jointer has not worn a suit in a long time. He recently returned home from a Jamesberg juvenile correction program. He committed an armed robbery on a person in Jersey City a few years ago, but now he has learned from his past mistakes, adding “I will never see that place again!”

Jointer on Wednesday, joined more than 100 men ages 15 and up for the seventh annual Dress 2 Success event held at UIH Family Partners in downtown Trenton.

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Prior to the men’s suit selection, participants took part in workshops led by community leaders such as Dwaine Williamson, a local criminal defense attorney.

Williamson’s presentation was energetic and passionate and focused on the idea that we all need to take part in our image and how our attire projects an attitude and communicates an image. “What you wear is a uniform, your outfit communicates a certain thing to the audience. For example, a suit communicates you are a professional. Another example, white t-shirts communicate a different message, maybe one of belonging with peers. A positive or negative image depends on who is looking. You need to know who your audience is at an interview, wearing a jacket or tie to an interview for a cook position may be appropriate,” Williamson said.

Jointer recently received his GED and will be starting at a local community college in January to study Graphic Design and Civil Engineering. Jointer, whose goal is to be an engineer, will be speaking at various elementary schools statewide, to tell his life story and present on his recent accomplishments. Jointer’s advice to the youth will be “Stay out of trouble, stay off the streets and stay in school!”

Duncan W. Harrison, Jr., UIH’s Associate Executive Director said “It was a very successful community event, at UIH, we want to make sure that participants have the proper attire for their job interviews and their first day at work.”

Volunteers included professional image-makers, stylists and successful professionals in the community who lent their time and expertise to the cause. All participants left with a brown shopping bag with a suit, two ties and some dress shirts.

Marquise Bennett, 15, has worn a suit twice in his life, once at a funeral and once at graduation. A ninth-grader, who wants to own his own business one day, was in the right place to gain advice and get used to wearing a suit. “This looks like a suit store, there are so many suits, I don’t know which one to select!”

Donald Hardee, 54, has never worn a suit in his life “I am very happy with the clothes I got! It makes me feel good!”

Jamar Conover, 23, who came because he thought UIH was handing out free soup, left instead with a suit. “I am trying to get my GED from Mercer. I am homeless, and I really needed a new outfit.”

The mission of UIH Family Partners is “Empowering New Jersey’s men, fathers and families to achieve self-sufficiency.” UIH has provided workforce development and parenting education to under served and under resourced men for nearly 21 years, and enjoys a national reputation as a leader in the emerging field of fatherhood programming.